Where will there be heart operations or stroke care in the future? The new hospital planning in North Rhine-Westphalia is on the home stretch. The approximately 330 hospitals are facing cuts, some of which are cost-effective.
After around six years of planning, the redesign of the hospital landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia is nearing completion. NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) will present the results in a press conference today (3 p.m.).
At the beginning of the week, the approximately 330 NRW hospitals received their assessment notices, which bindingly communicated to them their future portfolio of tasks. This means it is clear which hospital will be able to offer which services in the future and what changes will occur in the NRW hospital landscape.
The new structure will come into force on April 1, 2025. Transition periods are planned until the end of 2025 for certain performance groups.
The new hospital plan for North Rhine-Westphalia is no longer based on the number of beds, but rather on actual needs and clear quality requirements. Through concentration and specialization, Laumann will ensure that patients receive the best possible inpatient care.
According to an interim report presented in the summer, as a result of the reform, many hospitals will have to prepare for cost-effective cuts in their future range of services, for example in cancer treatments or lucrative knee and hip operations.
At the same time, local emergency care should be maintained. A hospital with internal and surgical care must be accessible to 90 percent of the population within 20 minutes. Intensive care medicine must be available across the board.
NRW is the first federal state with such a model. The North Rhine-Westphalia Hospital Association, health insurance companies, doctors' and nursing associations are behind the reform that has been planned for many years.
dpa-infocom GmbH
